Mike Knisley, Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss his upcoming retirement and reflect on his nearly four-decade career in the labor movement. Knisley discussed his journey from apprentice to union leader, the challenges faced by the building trades over the years and his vision for the future of organized labor in Ohio.
His career began in 1979 as a non-union welder. Eight years later, Knisley joined the United Association and, in doing so, took a significant pay cut to join the labor movement. He climbed the ranks from Local Union officer to Business Manager, and was eventually elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio State Building Trades in 2018. Throughout his career, Knisley witnessed the ebb and flow of the industry, from the decline of petrochemical and power generation work in the 1980s to the current construction boom in Central Ohio.
When discussing his current role, Knisley emphasized the importance of professionalism and elevating the status of building trades in Ohio. He works to promote Registered Apprenticeship Programs as an alternative to college, highlighting the benefits of the Earn While You Learn model and avoiding student debt. His efforts to present the building trades as a professional organization included testifying before the U.S. Senate on federal permitting and infrastructure legislation and serving on the Cleveland Federal Reserve Advisory Board.
As he prepares to retire at the end of the year, Knisley expressed pride in the progress made during his tenure. He credits his success to the support of his board, council leaders and the 100,000 hardworking men and women in the building trades. Knisley plans to continue advocating for workers' rights and addressing social issues through part-time consulting work, emphasizing the importance of giving back to the community and making the world a better place.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about Mike Knisley's remarkable journey and his insights on the future of the labor movement in Ohio.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
